Chapter 12 Asking for Leave on the First Day?

• Zeke finally understood why his mother had gone to Lindon Group; she was looking for a job.
• "Mommy, you don't have to work so hard. I can take care of you!" Zeke said it earnestly, looking at Ava.
• Ava thought her son was just being considerate and didn't take it seriously. She replied, touching, "Thank you, sweetheart. Mommy will take care of you now. When you grow up and start working, you can take care of Mommy, okay?"
• Zeke pouted, looking at Ava with a grievance.
• "But Mommy, if you go to work, what about me?"
• Ava hugged the little boy tightly. She gently stroked his head and said, "You? You are going to school!"
• "Really?" Zeke's eyes lit up with excitement at the mention of school.
• "Of course! You are old enough to go to school now!"
• "Yay! This is amazing. I can go to school and play with other kids. I won't be bored anymore!" Zeke cheered, his hands waving in excitement.
• However, Ava suddenly felt a bit troubled. She had to register Zeke's residency and find a kindergarten for him tomorrow, which would take at least half a day.
• Would Damon, that domineering, ice-cold man, want to strangle her for being late?
• Just thinking about it made her shiver. Perhaps she could request a leave of absence beforehand.
• Ava realised Zeke had fallen asleep after his excitement. She tucked him in and quietly went to the living room.
• She found Damon's phone number in her contacts. Memories and thoughts flooded her mind.
• Damon's grandmother insisted on exchanging this number before she passed away, but she had never called him.
• Five years had passed. Did he still have the same number?
• With a nervous heart, Ava dialled the number. After a few rings, the call connected. A familiar, magnetic voice came through.
• Ava didn't expect Damon to still have the same number after all these years. She hesitated for a moment and slowly spoke, "Mr. Lindon, I have something to attend to tomorrow. May I take half a day off?"
• The man on the other end was visibly stunned for a moment. He didn't expect it to be Ava.
• Hearing her request, he lowered his voice and gritted his teeth. "Ava—"
• Ava could hear the anger in his voice and quickly tried to placate him. She said, "Please, just this once. I really have something urgent to attend to."
• She hung up before he could respond.
• On the other end, Damon's face darkened as he heard the disconnected tone.
• His broad hand gripped the phone tightly, the screen cracking under the pressure.
• That damn woman dared to hang up on me!
• Nobody else dared to hang up on me except Aster.
• And what was that about? Asking for leave?
• She hadn't even started working yet and already wanted time off.
• Clearly, this woman didn't deserve to be Aster's mom. She really didn't care about him at all!
• The more Damon thought about it, the angrier he became. This woman was utterly unfit to be Aster's mother!
• The next morning, Ava woke up early. She first registered Zeke's residency, then she took him to the nearest kindergarten to enrol.
• ...
• At Lindon Mansion.
• Lane had woken up early, occupied herself, and prepared a nutritious and exquisite breakfast for everyone.
• After the meal, the family was ready to head back to Lindon Estate with Silvia. They knew how much trouble their daughter could cause.
• Moreover, they were worried and wanted to avoid angering the temperamental father-son duo. It was better for them to take Silvia away as soon as possible.
• Soon, the grand living room fell silent, leaving Damon reading a magazine and Aster playing with a Rubik's cube.
• The adult and child didn't disturb each other. Both had a cold aura that made people hesitant to approach them.
• When he heard the rapid turning of the Rubik's cube, Damon looked up at his son. He noticed how quickly Aster got the scrambled cube into neat order.
• He watched as Aster, expressionless, scrambled the cube again and solved it multiple times with incredible speed.
• Damon couldn't help but smile in satisfaction. His son inherited his intelligence and personality perfectly. No wonder Silvia always called Aster a genius freak.
• He was immensely grateful that Aster hadn't inherited Ava's inferior genes.
• Thinking of Ava made him grind his teeth in anger. That unreliable woman had just signed the contract yesterday and already wanted to back out today. She always uses excuses to avoid responsibility.
• Did she care about Aster at all?
• The more Damon thought about it, the angrier he became. He wanted to tear that woman's mouth apart to make sure she never dared lie again.
• Hmph! If I hadn't made her suffer to the point of wishing for death when she arrived, I wouldn't have been Damon.
• Having made up his mind, Damon looked at Aster with a gentle smile and said, "Today, Daddy will take you to school."
• "I won't go." Aster coldly replied. Then he took his Rubik's cube and went upstairs. Damon watched his aloof, cold son with a sense of helplessness.
• Fine! If he didn't want to go, let him be. He never forced Aster to do things he didn't want to.
• After all, Aster was highly intelligent with a photographic memory. Whether he attended kindergarten or not didn't really matter.
• Damon considered that he rarely spent time with his son due to work, so he decided to follow him upstairs. He wasn't going to the office today, and he planned to wait at home for Ava to arrive.
• He was particularly curious about what their first meeting would be like.
• …
• Meanwhile.
• Ava noticed it was almost 11 AM. After giving Zeke final instructions, she handed him over to the teacher and hurriedly headed to Lindon Mansion.
• Getting out of the taxi, Ava paused.
• It had been five years. Looking at the grand, luxurious mansion, a bitter smile crossed her lips. She thought she'd never return after leaving.
• This time, she came with a sense of redemption. For the sake of the child he left behind, she would endure any hardship from now on.
• Entering the mansion, Ava noticed all the servants were new faces.
• Of course, Damon would have replaced the staff to prevent anyone from recognising her.
• From the servants, she learned that Aster and Damon had gone upstairs after lunch. With a nervous heart, she carried a Lego gift box and went upstairs.
• Ava stood in the hallway for a while to calm herself. When she saw the half-open door, she gently pushed it open.
• Muted colours dominated the room's decor. She walked in slowly, looking at the cabinets filled with robot models and various Lego-built robots.
• Ava covered her mouth in excitement. This must be Aster's room.
• It turned out that Aster and Zeke had the same interests.
• She walked in quietly and observed the surroundings.